Iran Journal

Karim Khan Zand ruled Persia in the mid-1700s. VPR Reporter Steve Zind, a descendant of the ruler, takes us on a
remarkable journey through the villages and cities of Iran in search of his family history. Along the way we experience the
people, the beauty and at times the danger in this unique country.

Part 1: Arrival
It’s 2 a.m. in Tehran’s old and cavernous Mehrabad Airport. Everything is foreign. Outside, on one tall building there is a
mural of a huge American flag and a skeletal Statue of Liberty.

Part 2: Tehran
City life in Iran is a pastiche of old traditions and youthful energy – from the tranquility of the bazaars to the
pandemonium of the streets.

John Malcolm on Karim Khan Zand:"The happy reign of this
excellent prince, as contrasted with those who preceeded and followed him, affords the historian of Persia that kind of
mixed pleasure and repose, which a traveler enjoys on arriving in a beautiful and fertile valley during an arduous journey
over barren and rugged wastes. It is pleasing to recount the actions of a chief who, though born of an inferior rank,
obtained power without crime, and who exercised it with a moderation that, for the times in which he lived, was as singular
as his humanity and justice." (The History of Persia, 1829)

Books on Iran:

Sandra Mackey, The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation (Plume Books, 1998)